To coincide with National Public Health Week 2006, a new Web site geared toward kids, HealthRock, was created by Machelle M. Seibel, a leading expert in women’s health, a professor at the University of Massachusetts and editor in chief of the journal of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, "Sexuality, Reproduction and Menopause." This educational, interactive Web site helps parents and children learn about health issues that can lead to healthy, positive behavior. Visit the Web site at www.healthrock.com.
The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, has created two new guidebooks titled "Your Guide to a Healthy Heart" and "Your Guide to Living Well With Heart Disease." The guidebooks contain information on ways to prevent future heart disease, keep a healthy heart and maintain existing heart disease. To obtain a copy of the guidebooks, go to http://emall.nhlbihin.net or contact NHLBI Information Center at (301) 592-8573.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has launched a new Web site to provide information on how radiation affects everyday life, using an animated virtual town called RadTown USA. In addition to the town, fact sheets are also on the Web site with links to additional resources on radiation and its effects. To visit the Web site, go to www.epa.gov/radtown.
In June 2006, Rutgers University Press will publish "Living with Cancer: A Practical Guide" by Dave Visel. The book focuses on how to live one’s life after being diagnosed with cancer. For more information, call (732) 445-7762, ext. 626, or e-mail
Workplace Spanish Inc., in response to the need for Spanish to be spoken in hospitals, has created the program "Workplace Spanish for Hospitals and Nurses." The program introduces basic Spanish to hospital staff members so that patients can more easily understand and ask questions about their condition, which will ideally reduce the work of interpreters. For more information, go to www.workplacespanish.com, e-mail info@workplacespanish.com or call (770) 993-4075 .
In response to the insufficient flow of information from health care provider to patient, ECRI, an independent, non-profit health services research agency, has released a report titled "Informed Consent." The report discusses challenges in obtaining informed consent from patients, as well as solutions on how to properly educate patients, avoiding harm to patients and liability to the health care providers. Reports can be purchased for $75 by contacting Sharon Murphy at (610) 825-6000, ext. 5145, or
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, has updated their Web page, "Focus on TB." In addition to giving background information on the disease, the Web site also includes research studies that are currently in progress. Visit the Web site at www3.niaid.nih.gov/news/focuson/tb/default.htm.
The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, has released a new handbook titled, "Your Guide to Healthy Sleep." The guide discusses how to get enough sleep, why sleep is needed, how much sleep is required to be healthy, the importance of the quality of sleep and sleep disorders such as insomnia, sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome and narcolepsy. To download a free copy of the guide, go to www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/sleep/healthy_sleep.htm. To obtain a printed copy for $3.50, call the NHLBI information center at (301) 592-8573.
NIHSeniorHealth, a joint effort between the National Institute on Aging and the National Library of Medicine, both parts of the National Institutes of Health, is now providing more information on the prevention, detection and treatment of heart failure. Affecting about 5 million older Americans, heart failure occurs when the heart can no longer pump enough blood, overcompensates and slowly begins to wear itself out. Visit the Web site at www.nihseniorhealth.gov.
In March, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality released the new "State Snapshot" Web tool, which will be used to measure health care quality for different states. In addition to supplying measures and reports from the National Healthcare Quality Report from each state’s prospective, the "State Snapshot" tool has special features that can show each state’s performance in the treatment of diabetes. To see the new tool, go to www.nihseniorhealth.gov.
This year, the sixth annual Clean Air Excellence Awards ceremony recognized 16 projects by local and state governments, organizations and individuals for their efforts in support of clean air. The Clean Air Excellence Awards program was established in 2000 by the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee, a senior-level group that advises the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on issues of clean air. For more information about the award, go to www.epa.gov/air/caaac/2005.awar.html.
On April 6, New Jersey launched the Healthy School Facility Environments Web site to help parents, students and school staff address environmental health issues in school buildings. Created by the Healthy Schools Ad Hoc Committee, the Web site helps to prevent, identify and control health and safety hazards in schools across the state. To visit the Web site, go to www.state.nj.us/health/healthyschools.
The Haworth Press Inc. recently released "The Handbook of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Public Health: A Practitioner’s Guide to Service." Edited by Michael D. Shankle, a research specialist, the handbook addresses lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender public health issues, as well as inequities in the public health field that affect that community. To order the book, call (800) 429-6784 or e-mail orders@haworthpress.com, or visit the Web site at www.haworthpress.com.
In April 2006, the Health Administration Press released "Patient Satisfaction: Understanding and Managing the Experience of Care, Second Edition," by Irwin Press. The book explains how to monitor the factors that affect a patient’s care as well as how to gear a patient’s satisfaction. To purchase a copy of the book, call (301) 362-6905. For a complimentary review copy, call Angela McCray at (312) 424-9456.
In a continuing effort to expand outreach to the Hispanic community in the United States and Puerto Rico, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has launched a new Hispanic environmental health page on pesticides in its Spanish-language portal. The Web site, "El medio ambiente y su salud," contains information on how environmental health issues affect different Hispanic communities. Visit the new Web page at www.epa.gov/espanol/pesticides.htm.
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